An ad hoc commitee proposed the establishment of an educational FM-radio station to be sponsored and supported by the college in 1955. Following the donation of a used FM transmitter by the Green Bay radio station WJPG and the appointment of Joe Hopfensperger as the station's first director, broadcasts began March 10, 1956. With the exception of the director, the rest of the staff positions were filled by students. At this time the studio was located in the basement of the old campus gymnasium (Alexander Gymnasium I) and broadcasted within a 40-mile radius. The studio moved to the basement of the Music-Drama Center in 1960, and in 1976, to the newly-constructed Seeley G. Mudd Library.

Programming included educational discussions and lectures, in addition to music. In 1986, WLFM began an affiliation with Wisconsin Public Radio, broadcasting NPR's "Morning Edition" and other WPR programs. In 2005, WLFM switched to an internet-only broadcast format.

Scope and Contents: This collection includes records documenting WLFM, the student-run radio station at Lawrence University and the first FM radio station in Appleton, Wisconsin, which began broadcasting in 1956. Records date from 1954 to 2005 and include Board of Control materials, correspondence and reports of station managers and directors, program schedules, and other materials related to the management of the station. Newspaper articles and photographs are also included.